Seven years later, Kurt Triplett, Simsâ€™ former chief of staff, is interim county executive. And the second verse is same as the first. (Actually the third verse when last yearâ€™s cuts in the sheriffâ€™s and prosecutorâ€™s offices and the court system are included.)

Triplett recently proposed â€œmothballingâ€ 39 parks in unincorporated urban areas in King County â€“ more than a third of them in the Highline area. But even if all parks on his hit list were to be closed, which some Highline officials and volunteers consider unlikely, five parks and maybe a sixth would remain open.

Those parks are in the â€œsouthâ€ part of the North Highline unincorporated area, which residents there decided on Tuesday will be become part of the city of Burien. That transition is expected to occur early next year.

More than a third of the parks proposed to be "mothballed" by King County are in the Highline area.

North Highline parks that will be annexed by Burien are:

Arbor Lake Park, So. 124th Street and 4th Ave So.

Hazel Valley Park, SW 126th Street and 2nd Ave SW

Hilltop Park, So. 128th Street and 26th Ave So.

Puget Sound Park, 126th Street SW and 1st Ave So.

Salmon Creek Park, SW 118th Street and 8th Ave SW

Southern Heights Park, So. 120th Street and 14th Avenue So., also in the annexation area, has been leased and maintained by the county but is owned by Water District 20. There is no immediate indication about the districtâ€™s plan for this park.

Triplett said mothballing the parks would reduce general fund expenses by $4.6 million. The county faces a $56.4 million shortfall in projected tax revenues and the executive and council are looking for ways to balance the budget to maintain 2009 service levels.

King County Councilman Dow Constantine of West Seattle, whose district includes North Highline and most of Burien, reacted swiftly with a statement opposing Triplettâ€™s plan. Constantine, who finished second in the August 18 primary election contest for county executive â€“ and will face former KIRO-TV anchor Susan Hutchison in November â€“ currently serves as council chairman.

â€œI am opposed to Executive Triplettâ€™s proposal to cut all funding for King County parks in the urban unincorporated areas,â€ Constantine said. â€œParks are important to the health and quality of life of everyone in the communities in which King County provides basic services â€“ especially to our young people. To eliminate these parks with the stroke of a pen when economic times get tough would be short-sighted.â€

He said â€œall other possible cutsâ€ â€“ including reductions in administrative staff â€“ and â€œinnovative budget solutionsâ€ need to be explored â€œbefore we consider the elimination of direct services to King County residents. I have laid out a set of ideas to serve as a starting point for substantive discussions by the King County Council to create a balanced 2010 budget without raising taxes or cutting funding for urban unincorporated parksâ€

Hutchison could not be reached for comment.

Triplettâ€™s proposal addresses only parks with maintenance financed through the general fund. They total approximately 610 acres and have a total assessed value of $57 million. It would not affect King Countyâ€™s regional parks and trails, which are funded through the County Parks levy.

â€œTaxpayers have paid for these parks, and I am open to any proposal from the cities or others to transfer ownership for free,â€ said Triplett. â€œAs part of the effort to encourage annexations, the state has given these cities tax options the county does not have.â€

Closed parks would have fences installed around perfectly-good playground equipment.

The 39 targeted parks will remain open for use but will not be maintained. In December, if this plan goes into effect, crews will fence playground equipment, lock and secure restrooms, post signs and lock gates in the closed parks.

Triplett said his priority is to shield public health and criminal justice services as much as possible but that all county departments will see budget cuts in 2010.

The other parks in the general Highline area on Triplettâ€™s mothball list are:

Duwamish (River) Park â€“ Site 1

Evergreen Athletic Field (and Evergreen Pool), 606 SW 116 Street

Hamm Creek Natural Area

Lakewood Park, 11050 10th Ave SW

North Shorewood Park, SW 102nd Street and 24th Ave SW

Sunset Playfield, So. 136th Street and 18th Ave So.

White Center Heights Park, SW 102nd Street and 7th Ave SW

White Center Pond Natural Area, SW 102nd Street and 12th Ave SW

So…what do YOU think about the county closing so many parks in our area? Please take our poll, or Comment below…

Comments

Hopefully the City of Burien can take a few of the parks. Hey how about a P-Patch? very little investment, The users usually pay a fee to use, and no maintenance other than providing a water source!

I think this is a product of county government favoritizing the east side and northside of the counties. Of course I shoulfd guess we should be used to that. The County and State has been doing that for decades. Money talks, BS Walks, just not around your local park, cause it is fenced.

Bob, the City of Burien plans to take over the KC Parks in the southern annexation area of North Highline so those will likely be fine and stay open now that the people in that area have voted to annex to Burien. See the City’s Annexation FAQs handout http://www.burienwa.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=939

What I see Triplett really doing by coming out and suggesting closing of urban parks, is using that as a strategy to get the KC Councilmembers to take action to find cuts in other services to deal with the budget shortfall. Triplett no doubt knows that people don’t want parks closed and suggesting this would be very controversial. We are several months from when the budget will be finalized in November. No one should get too excited that the parks will in fact be mothballed until later on in the budget process.

I’m looking at the address’ of the proposed ‘mothballed’ parks & it seems to me that most of them are in the lower income neighborhoods. is this true? how sad, as if children in low income areas aren’t faced with enough challenges & problems along the way – but now we’re talking about removing their parks & playgrounds? even worse… not actually removing them but rather – fencing them off to be seen & not used. how sad & tragic to the children who will be the most affected by this proposoal & have no voice to speak up for them.

pretty much the whole reason why i find it incredibly difficult to trust the government.